Former Spartans Preparing for NFL Playoffs

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Five former Michigan State Spartans – Buccaneers defensive lineman William Gholston, Steelers tight end Connor Heyward, Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor, Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed and Ravens center Nick Samac – are preparing for the NFL Playoffs, which start this weekend (Jan. 11-13) with the Wild Card round.

In addition, Rams offensive tackle AJ Arcuri, Steelers defensive tackle Jacob Slade and Steelers tight end Matt Sokol are on the practice squad for their respective teams.

A total of 19 former Spartans saw action on NFL rosters this season.

Wild Card Weekend Schedule (games involving former Spartans)

Saturday, Jan. 11
No. 6 Pittsburgh (10-7) at No. 3 Baltimore (12-5), 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Former Spartans: TE Connor Heyward (Steelers), C Nick Samac (Ravens)

Sunday, Jan. 12
No. 7 Green Bay (11-6) at No. 2 Philadelphia (14-3), 4:30 p.m. (FOX)
Former Spartans: WR Jayden Reed (Packers)

No. 6 Washington (12-5) at No. 3 Tampa Bay (10-7), 8 p.m. (NBC)
Former Spartans: DL William Gholston (Buccaneers)

Monday, Jan. 13
No. 5 Minnesota (14-3) at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams (10-7), 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Former Spartans: WR Jalen Nailor (Vikings)

Former Spartans on active NFL rosters entering the NFL Playoffs (as of Jan. 8, 2025)

DL William Gholston – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12th season)
Twelve-year NFL veteran is making his fifth appearance in the NFL Playoffs for the NFL South Champion Buccaneers . . . was on the Super Bowl LV Champion team with Tampa Bay . . . has played in nine career NFL Playoff games with the Bucs . . . played in all 17 games during the regular season . . . recorded 12 tackles and played 201 snaps on defense and 105 on special teams . . . has played in 186 regular-season games for the Buccaneers, fifth most in franchise history . . . three-year letterwinner (2010-12) was a member of the 2010 Big Ten Champion Spartans.

TE Connor Heyward – Pittsburgh Steelers (third season)
Third-year tight end is making his second career appearance in the NFL Playoffs with the Steelers . . . caught six passes for 40 yards with one TD . . . played 302 snaps on special teams and 206 on offense . . . has played in 51 regular-season games for the Steelers during his first three seasons in the NFL (2022-24) with 41 receptions for 358 yards and two TDs . . . four-year letterwinner (2017-18; 20-21) played in 49 career games for the Spartans and helped MSU to a No. 9 national ranking and a win in the Peach Bowl during the 2021 season.

WR Jayden Reed – Green Bay Packers (second season)
Second-year wide receiver is making his second consecutive appearance in the postseason with the Packers . . . led Green Bay in both receptions (55) and receiving yards (857) while ranking second in yards from scrimmage (1,020) and touchdown catches (6) . . . also rushed for 163 yards and one TD on 20 carries and had 14 punt returns for 110 yards . . . played in all 17 games, including 10 starts . . . has 119 catches for 1,650 yards and 14 TDs in 33 career games with the Packers in his first two seasons, including 23 starts; has scored a total of 17 touchdowns and has accumulated 1,932 yards from scrimmage . . . has led the Packers in receptions the past two seasons (64 in 2023, 55 in 2024) . . . three-year letterwinner was a 2021 first-team All-American for the Spartans as an all-purpose player; named Offensive MVP of the 2021 Peach Bowl.

WR Jalen Nailor – Minnesota Vikings (third season)
Third-year wide receiver recorded career highs in receptions (28), receiving yards (414) and TD catches (6) while playing in all 17 games, including seven starts . . . ranked third on the team in touchdown receptions (6), fourth in receiving yards (414) and fifth in receptions (28) . . . has 40 receptions for 622 yards and 7 TDs in 38 career games from 2022-24, including eight starts.

C Nick Samac – Baltimore Ravens (rookie season)
Selected in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Ravens . . . has been on the active roster all season, but has not played any game snaps . . . five-year letterwinner (2019-23) played in 49 career games for the Spartans, including 32 starts at center.

Additional former Spartans in the NFL in 2024:

OT AJ Arcuri – Los Angeles Rams (third season)
Played in two games for the Rams (Week 1 vs. Lions and Week 18 vs. Seahawks) . . . is currently on the practice squad heading into the playoffs . . . played in eight games for the Rams in 2022 and spent the 2023 season on the practice squad . . . four-year letterwinner (2017-21) for the Spartans was a seventh-round draft choice by the Rams in 2022.

LB Joe Bachie – Cincinnati Bengals (fifth season)
Played in 12 games before getting placed on injured reserve on Dec. 12 . . . recorded three tackles and played 220 snaps on special teams and 36 on defense at linebacker . . . has played in 51 career games with 48 career tackles during his five seasons in the NFL (2020-24) . . . four-year letterwinner (2016-19) was named team MVP in 2017 and was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2018.

P Bryce Baringer – New England Patriots (second season)
Former Spartan All-American punter ranked fifth in the NFL with his 49.8-yard punting average . . . also ranked seventh in the NFL with 31 punts inside the 20 . . . was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team in 2023 after averaging 46.9 yards per punt . . . earned first-team All-America honors for the Spartans in 2022 and graduated as the program's all-time leader in punting average (46.0 avg.).

DB Kendell Brooks – Tennessee Titans (rookie season)
Began the season on the practice squad for the Titans before getting moved up to the active roster for the final five games of the season . . . made his NFL debut on Dec. 8 against Jacksonville . . . recorded his first career NFL tackle against the Bengals on Dec. 15 . . . played a total of 62 snaps on special teams in five games . . . two-year letterwinner for the Spartans (2022-23).

CB Josh Butler – Dallas Cowboys (rookie season)
Made his NFL debut with the Cowboys on Nov. 3 against Atlanta . . . was previously on the practice squad with the Cowboys and played in the USFL with the Michigan Panthers in 2023 . . . played in five games overall for Dallas in 2024, including three starts at cornerback . . . played 160 snaps on defense and 23 on special teams . . . had 21 tackles, including one sack, and five passes defended . . . finished the season on injured reserve . . . four-year letterwinner for the Spartans from 2016-19.

OT Jack Conklin – Cleveland Browns (ninth season)
Started 12 games for the Browns after getting injured in the first game of the 2023 season . . . completed his ninth season in the NFL and has been named first-team All-Pro twice (2016 with Titans, 2020 with Browns) . . . was a first-round pick (No. 8 overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft after earning first-team All-America honors in 2015 at MSU.

QB Kirk Cousins – Atlanta Falcons (13th season)
Thirteen-year NFL veteran started the first 14 games of the season for the Falcons . . . completed 67 percent of his passes (303-of-453) for 3,508 yards and 18 touchdowns . . . four-time Pro Bowler has thrown for 42,979 yards (21st in NFL history) and 288 touchdowns (18th in NFL history) in his NFL career . . . three-time MSU captain (2009-11) owns MSU school records for pass completions (723) and passing efficiency (146.1 rating), while ranking second in passing yards (9,131) and touchdown passes (66).

DL Naquan Jones – Arizona Cardinals (fourth season)
Played in 12 games for the Cardinals with 27 tackles and four TFLs . . . has totaled 89 tackles in 48 career games in the NFL (2021-24) . . . four-year letterwinner for the Spartans from 2017-20.

LS Taybor Pepper – San Francisco 49ers (seventh season)
Starting long snapper for the 49ers for the fifth year in a row . . . has played in 100 regular-season games for the 49ers and played in Super Bowl LVIII with San Francisco . . . played in 54 games from the Spartans from 2012-15 and was a member of two Big Ten Championship teams (2013, 2015).

CB Ameer Speed – Chicago Bears (second season)
Played in two games for the Bears . . . has played in 15 games in the NFL in his first two seasons (five games with Patriots and eight games with Colts in 2023) . . . lettered at Michigan State in 2022 and was a sixth-round NFL Draft pick by the Patriots in 2023.

LB/FB Ben VanSumeren – Philadelphia Eagles (second season)
Played in 11 games for the Eagles, primarily on special teams, during his second season in the NFL . . . played 213 snaps on special teams and 22 on offense as a fullback . . . went on injured reserve on Nov. 30 and missed the last six games of the regular season . . . has played in 20 games with the Eagles during his first two seasons in the NFL (2023-24) with nine tackles . . . two-year letterwinner (2021-22) played in 24 games for the Spartans.

RB Kenneth Walker III – Seattle Seahawks (third season)
Led the Seahawks in rushing for the third season in a row with 573 yards and seven touchdowns on 153 carries . . . started and played in 11 games before ending the season on injured reserve . . . also had 46 catches for 299 yards and one TD reception . . . compiled a total of 872 yards from scrimmage . . . has rushed for 2,528 yards and 24 touchdowns over the course of 41 games (37 starts) in his three-year NFL career (2022-24) . . . also has accumulated 3,251 yards from scrimmage in his career (79.3 ypg).

WR Cody White – Seattle Seahawks (third season)
Played in four games for the Seahawks . . . played 62 snaps on offense and 49 on special teams . . . had two catches for 44 yards in his Seahawks debut on Nov. 3 against the Rams . . . played two seasons for the Steelers (2021-22) and spent the 2023 season on the practice squad for the Seahawks . . . has played in 20 NFL games (2021-22, 2024) with eight catches for 79 yards . . . three-year letterwinner for the Spartans (2017-19).

LB Jacoby Windmon – Carolina Panthers (rookie season)
Played in eight games for the Panthers during his first season in the NFL . . . was on the practice squad for the Steelers before signing with the Panthers . . . made his NFL debut against Washington on Oct. 20 and had one tackle . . . finished the season with 22 tackles, including 1.5 sacks, along with two passes defended . . . recorded eight tackles and a sack vs. Arizona on Dec. 22 . . . recorded a career-high 10 tackles and a half sack against Tampa Bay in playing a season-high 66 snaps at linebacker on Dec. 29 . . . played 128 snaps at linebacker and 89 plays on special teams . . . two-year letterwinner for the Spartans (2022-23).

Practice squad (did not see game action): DT Jacob Slade (Steelers), TE Matt Sokol (Steelers)

Related News

Related Videos